Innovating laptop helps educate the world’s children
Giving is better than receiving. So why not do both?
Trevor Bekolay
From now until Dec. 31, the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) association is offering the Give One Get One program for individuals in the United States and Canada. US$400 pays for two laptops designed for children — one for the buyer and one for a child in a developing nation. The OLPC has sold an average of US$2-million worth of laptops every day since the program began on Nov. 12. And it’s no wonder — this may be the only time individuals in North America can get their hands on one of these laptops.
OLPC is a non-profit organization striving to provide every child in the world access to new channels of learning, sharing, and self-expression. They have worked over the last several years to design the extremely cheap XO laptop. Physically, the XO laptop was designed for children aged 6-12 to use in all types of environments; philosophically, it was designed to connect groups of children using free and open-source software. Open-source software refers to computer programs that make available their source code — all of the information on how a program is created. OLPC is founded on the idea that knowledge should be free, and software is no exception.
What can children do on this laptop? Almost anything one can do on any other computer. The XO comes with the productivity tools one would expect: a web browser, an e-mail client, an instant messaging application, and a word processor that allows collaboration. More importantly, it comes with programs specially designed to allow children to be creative; there are programs to create and edit pictures and music, programs to view videos and a host of educational games — including the classic SimCity. All of this software is built on top of the Linux operating system. Linux is a piece of software that manages all of the programs and files on a computer; much like the more familiar Windows or Mac OS X. The difference is that Linux is free and open-source — meaning that children with an affinity for computers could change any aspect of how their computer operates.
The hardware powering the software is designed to be cheap, power efficient, and durable in any environment. The XO laptop has around one-eighth to one-quarter the processing power of a typical mid-range laptop today. The 7.5-inch LCD display has two modes: a backlit colour mode that resembles most common laptop displays and a monochrome mode that can display images and text incredibly clearly even in direct sunlight. The XO does not have a hard drive, partly because hard drives have moving parts that are prone to failure. Instead, the XO provides one GB of flash memory (the same technology used in most MP3 players with low capacity). The XO’s keyboard is covered in a water-resistant membrane for outdoor use. To connect children together, the XO has two antennae that can connect directly to other XO laptops in addition to connecting to the internet. Children can send each other pictures and videos captured from the XO’s built in web cam and microphone.
During normal use, the laptop only draws two watts of power, far less than the 10 to 45 watts used by conventional laptops. The XO’s battery lasts for approximately four hours, but can be powered with a solar cell or a pull-string generator if an electrical outlet is not available. All of this technology is housed in a thick green-and-white plastic shell, in all weighing 3.2 pounds.
More than simply a physical piece of machinery, participants in the Give One Get One program are really giving children access to knowledge. The current generation of North American university students is experiencing a shift in research practices; what used to be hours skimming books and journals in the library is now hours searching online journals and websites. Many developing countries are extremely limited in their access to printed materials, so skipping straight to Internet access gives these schoolchildren the resources to learn independently, improving their chances of raising the quality of life for current and future generations.
Some have criticized the OLPC program because it does not supply what many countries need immediately — clean water and schools, for example. While I agree that laptops will not solve all of the problems developing nations are facing, I think these laptops will be a catalyst for further change and development in these nations. Being able to see first-hand the creations of children that are able to collaborate and express themselves is more real to me than even the most depressing statistic or Brangelina speech.
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